Christianity

Psalms 124The LORD on Our Side

Summary

Psalm 124, a Song of Ascents attributed to David, is Israel's communal thanksgiving for a narrow escape. Let Israel now say, it begins, that if the LORD had not been on our side when men rose up against us, they would have swallowed us alive and the waters would have gone over our soul. Blessing God, the people compare themselves to a bird escaped from the fowler's snare and confess that their help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth.

Key verse

“Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth.”

Psalms 124:8

Themes

Deliverance
Communal Thanksgiving
Escape from Danger
Help in God's Name

If it had not been the LORD who was on our side, now may Israel say;

If it had not been the LORD who was on our side, when men rose up against us:

Then they had swallowed us up quick, when their wrath was kindled against us:

Then the waters had overwhelmed us, the stream had gone over our soul:

Then the proud waters had gone over our soul.

Blessed be the LORD, who hath not given us as a prey to their teeth.

Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers: the snare is broken, and we are escaped.

Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth.

Text: King James Version (1611/1769), public domain.

Across traditions

Christianity
Exodus 15: The Song of the Sea
The Song of the Sea in Exodus 15 praises God for overwhelming Israel's pursuers in the waters, while Psalm 124 uses flood imagery for enemies who would have swept the people away.
Christianity
Romans 8: If God Be for Us
Paul's question in Romans 8:31, if God be for us, who can be against us, voices the same confidence as Psalm 124's opening.

Questions about Psalms 124

Where is 'our help is in the name of the LORD' used?

Psalm 124:8 has long served as an opening sentence in Christian worship, notably in Calvin's Strasbourg and Geneva liturgies, and as a versicle in Catholic liturgy (Adiutorium nostrum in nomine Domini), often answered with the words who made heaven and earth.

What does the escaped bird in Psalm 124 represent?

Psalm 124:7 pictures the people as a bird whose snare is broken, so it flies free. The image stresses that rescue came from outside, by God's action, not by the bird's own strength.